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About
Digital identity systems are particularly prevalent among refugee populations with the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) hosting one of the largest biometric databases in the world. With over 100 million displaced people globally, biometrically supported digital identity systems are championed as solutions not only for the provision of ‘a legal identity for all’ (SDG 16.9), but also for the administration of complex humanitarian operations.
The refugee camps in northern Thailand exemplify the digital identity trend. Our fieldsite is based in a refugee camp in Northern Thailand, which has been at the forefront of technological pilots involving biometric technologies.
Our project develops an understanding of responsible digital identity from the perspective of refugees living in a camp in northern Thailand. Despite the increasing use of biometric digital identity systems, there is a critical lack of refugee-centred perspectives in shaping these technologies and policies. Our project centres the voices and experiences of Karen refugees in discussions about identification, consent, and the implications of digital technologies in humanitarian settings. Through the participatory art approach, our participants reimagine what an ideal identity system would look like from their point of view.
The project has the following aims:
1. To map the implications of existing identification systems in a refugee camp in Northern Thailand.
2. To develop an understanding of what constitutes a responsible and fair digital identity system from the point of view of Karen refugees of all genders, ages and religions living in a camp in northern Thailand.
3. To inform policy on the design, implementation and management of responsible digital identity systems in refugee camps in Thailand and beyond.
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The research questions
What is lacking in current debates about digital identity is the perspective of refugees themselves; how they experience, interpret, and respond to these technologies in their everyday lives. While much of the discourse is shaped by institutional, technical, and policy-driven viewpoints, the voices of those most affected by these systems are often overlooked. Our research asks:
1. How do Karen refugees of all genders, ages and religions respond to the digital identification systems currently used?
2. What would a responsible identification system look like from their point of view?​
3. How can consent processes in refugee biometric registrations be implemented in fair and responsible ways?
4. How can we reimagine identity systems so that they are responsible to the communities that use them?